Blue microphones
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Blue brings the Mikey Digital and Spark Digital to Macworld | iWorld 2012
Blue Microphones are a favorite of ours around here at TUAW. We've used Blue's mics to record countless streams and podcasts, and most of our staffers have bought one or more with their own cash before. So it was nice to see them again at Macworld | iWorld 2012 in San Francisco this week, where PR Manager Hillary Money kindly showed us two new models due out later on this year. The first is the Mikey Digital, which is an update to Blue's Mikey, the company's original mic built to plug in directly to the iPod touch's 30-pin connector. This model is for the iPhone. Apple slightly changed the protocol between the two devices when the Mikey was first introduced, so this version is designed to work specifically with the phone hardware rather than just the iPod. But that tweak isn't the only difference -- there's also a three-setting switch between low, medium, or high gain (and the switch is hooked up to three LEDs that will provide some indication of where you're setting it, which is definitely a helpful improvement). And the middle LED will flash as well when the mic gets distorted, so even if you're not listening during recording, you can see when things are too loud. The other big update is that the 1/4" input on the outside of the mic now will also accept both line and instrument inputs, so you'll be able to just plug your electric guitar right into the mic, which is a nice bonus if you don't already have a solution for that. The Mikey Digital will retail for $99, and should be out later this spring. The Spark Digital is a new mic that's designed specifically for the iPad. It's a version of one of the company's most popular studio mics that instead plugs directly into the iPad's dock connector, allowing you to record straight onto Garageband for iPad, or any other audio recording app (more on that in a second). The Spark also comes with a USB adapter, so you can also use it as a standard PC or Mac mic as well. It also has a gain control and a port for monitoring the audio off of a splitter, and there's a button called "Focus Control" that will change the mic's pickup two different ways, for closeup sound or wider recording. The Spark is suspended by a cord inside a stand, which helps prevent vibrations from reaching the mic's sensitive equipment. We didn't get a chance to hear the output of either microphone, but Blue's microphones are always quality -- especially for the price they're available at, these mics are some of the best value for the money. The Spark will be available this spring as well for $199, and that includes all of the cables, as well as a six-month subscription to both Soundcloud and Gobbler, for storing and sharing audio. Finally, we asked about Blue's iPhone app, Blue FiRe, and if it would ever arrive natively on the iPad. Money told us that while the app itself is still being supported by its developers, Blue's deal with them has ended, so it's no longer funding development on that app. Blue is apparently looking into possibly making a brand new official app, but Money says the result will probably be a long way off. "It's on our radar," she promised. In the meantime, these mics still work with any app that will record audio, including Apple's own Garageband, so there are still plenty of uses for Blue's products. Always good to see Blue and what they're putting out. We'll look forward to getting our hands on these later on this year.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Blue (update: video embedded)
Blue's been making some noise, crystal clear noise that is, here at CES with its mobile trio of mics, following up on the fan favorite Yeti line. Blue stops by, live at 3:30PM ET.Update: Interview video now embedded.
Blue Microphones Tiki, Mikey Digital and Spark Digital hands-on
We swung by Blue Microphones' booth at CES to get our hands on its trio of new mics, and while the Mikey Digital and Spark Digital (the former for iPhone and iPad, and the latter for iPad only) looked very much like their analog counterparts, the cute little Tiki was quite the attention-seeker with its cyborg snail-like shape (and did we mention that there's a push button on its butt for toggling Intelligent Mute?). The new Spark's shock-mount desktop stand also intrigued us -- we'd say it's a nice blend of the old mount and the Yeti's stand. Other than that, there's really not much else to say about these funky-looking mics, so we'll let our photos below do the rest of the job.
Blue Microphones outs Tiki, Spark Digital and Mikey Digital; looks to feed your mobile recording habit
Blue Microphones have become a solid choice for podcasters and recording enthusiasts alike. But if you're looking to sidestep that Yeti Pro next time you converse with your mates, the company has three new offerings that were announced at CES 2012. Looking to keep you mobile and at the top of your audio game, Blue's new trio packs quite a punch, so let's take a look.
New Blue Yeti Pro Mic stalking audio enthusiasts
Blue Microphones makes outstanding mics for musicians, podcasters and anyone else who needs to capture or transmit audio with great clarity and range. After using one of Blue's Yeti USB mics at Macworld Expo 2010, I bought one to improve my audio on TUAW TV Live and the TUAW Talkcast. That same mic has also been used for recording voiceovers, screencasts and a commemorative video, and it never fails to amaze me just how good the sound quality is. For many musicians, however, the Yeti just didn't do the job since it only had a USB connection. Now Blue has updated the Yeti with a new model, unsurprisingly called the Yeti Pro ($249.95 suggested retail price, available for less through some online sources). The Pro will make audio professionals happy, as it adds analog XLR output, an A-D converter chip, and a separate analog circuit path so it can be used with pro mixers and preamps. As with the existing Yeti, the Yeti Pro can be used in both studio and desktop environments. The four-position pattern selector knob is still on the mic's tubular body, providing a way to switch between stereo, cardioid, omnidirectional, and bidirectional pickup patterns. There's still a mute button, gain control, and volume knob, and the base still has a standard threaded mic stand mount. %Gallery-121781%
Blue Microphones Yeti Pro review
USB microphones have come a long way in the past decade. We still remember our first experiences with them. Was it the 90's? It was the 90's, and it was a debacle: getting your drivers in line, wondering if the crappy plastic casing was going to snap off in your hand, and trying to figure out if you were going to be able to hear the audio through your Sound Blaster in the end anyway. We're happy to live in a 2011 that has the Yeti Pro, a seriously serious smooth operator that's likely to tickle grandma's fancy just as much as it will a jaded studio engineer's. Read on for the account of our engagement with the 3.4-pound beast.
Yeti Pro USB condenser microphone touts 24-bit / 192 kHz digital recording, XLR output, we go hands-on
Who says you have to wait until NAMM for new audio gear? Blue Microphones is on-hand here in Vegas to introduce its newest and Yeti-est USB condenser microphone to date: the Yeti Pro. Picking up where the original Yeti left off, this professionalized version offers a 24-bit / 129kHz digital recording resolution, analog XLR output and a proprietary triple capsule array. We got a chance to fondle a unit a little early and, as expected, it feels decidedly top shelf. Knobs turn smoothly and with just the right resistance, stand is heavy and secure. It'll ship later this month for $249, and you can catch the entire release just after the break. %Gallery-112569% %Gallery-112380%
TUAW's Holiday Gift Guide: Music gear for the Mac musician
Welcome to the TUAW Holiday Gift Guide! We've sorted the treasure from the junk and are serving up suggestions to make your holiday gift-giving a little easier. Choosing the right gift for an Apple-loving musician can be very tricky. Usually, they've got everything they want already because they can't wait for the latest and greatest -- they just get it for themselves as soon as they can. Or they are so overwhelmed by the choices presented to them that they can't make a decision and therefore obsess about it for months on end. To say the least, it can be very difficult to give the Apple-loving musician the right gift. Ironically, to top it all off, the gift-giver is usually not a musician, nor do they understand the gear and tech that most commonly goes with being a musician. For instance, when I start talking about music tech to a fellow musician in the presence of my wife, she looks at us as if we're speaking an alien language, and try as she might, she can't help but get extremely bored very quickly. So, to help you (the musician / beloved gift-giver) make the right decision, we've gone to the trouble of putting together a list of some of our favorite music apps and pieces of music tech from the last year. You'll definitely find something here that an Apple-loving musician is sure to be pleased with this holiday season.
Blue's Mikey microphone for iPhone and iPod finally shipping to picky recorders
If you need a little better acoustic recording from your iPhone or iPod, or if your portable device is simply fitting a little too easy into your pants pocket, Blue Microphones has your solution. Its Mikey microphone is finally shipping, after getting a debut nearly a year ago. The specs are still the same as we expected before, including CD-quality recording in stereo or mono with a swiveling base that lets it cover 230 degrees of your own little sound field. One thing that has changed, and quite nicely, is the cost: down to $80 from the previously expected $99 MSRP. Everybody likes that.
Macworld 2010: TUAW's Best in Show
Our videos are almost all posted, the interviews are all transcribed, and the impressions are all done and published -- we're finally bringing our Macworld 2010 coverage to conclusion. It was a heck of a show -- while there wasn't a lot of attention outside the conference floor from folks expecting more about Apple, on the show floor itself there was clearly an excitement and a sense of opportunity for lots of companies who might have been overshadowed by Apple's presence in the past. It was a smaller show, for sure, but in some ways it was also a better show. We're still not completely sure what will happen next year, but Macworld 2010 was a success -- not as big a success as it was when Apple was putting wind in the sails, but a success nevertheless. We saw a lot of stuff at the show, from dozens of accessories, to the wild Parrot AR.Drone, and even the closest thing to an iPad that we could find. After clicking on the link below, read on to see what a few of our bloggers had to say about the best of what they saw at the show. %Gallery-85255%
Macworld 2010: Hands-on with the Blue Mikey
Blue Microphones are on the show floor here at Macworld, and they invited us by their booth to take a look (and a listen) at the newest version of the Blue Mikey iPhone microphone. And with most of Blue's products (I have a Snowball that I use for podcasting, and it works and sounds great), it's quite impressive, producing excellent sound in a well-designed and easy-to-use form. Earlier this year, Blue announced the second revision of the Mikey, with enhanced features for $20 more than the first $79 version. That's the one we used, and it looked and worked great. They've added a line input (for recording guitars), and a USB passthrough, as well as put the entire body on a swivel (so it can even swing all the way around and point forward while shooting video on the 3G.
Second-generation Blue Microphones Mikey announced, uses free app
The audio wizards at Blue Microphones have wowed Mac and iPod fans with their Snowball, Snowflake, and Mikey microphones. Now, just before the start of CES 2010, Blue has announced the US$99.99 second generation Mikey Portable Recorder for iPod and iPhone. While the new Mikey hasn't yet achieved iPhone certification, it promises to be a powerful professional recording solution for iPhone owners when it arrives in the spring. Mikey still features two Blue mic capsules for pro-quality stereo recording, but now has improved acoustic circuitry for better recordings of loud events such as concerts. The new Mikey also has a 3.5mm line input for those times that you want to plug in a sound source like a guitar or mixer. There's also a USB pass-through connection for charging and syncing. A newly designed case makes Mikey usable with most iPhone cases, and the mic can be adjusted to seven fixed positions within a 230-degree range for optimum positioning. But wait, there's more! Blue is also throwing in a soft carrying pouch for Mikey, along with a headphone extension cable for playback monitoring with the iPod touch and nano. Blue has also put a high-fidelity field recording app for iPhone and iPod touch into the App Store. Blue FiRe [Free, iTunes Link] has been out for a few months and is optimized for the second generation Mikey. The combination of the high-quality mic and free software produces a complete mobile recording experience. Expect to see the new Mikey at Apple Stores, Guitar Center, and Amazon.com this spring. [via Engadget]
Yeti USB Condenser Mic gets certified by THX, fellow Yetis
Blue Microphones, the same company responsible for the heralded Snowball, is today introducing the planet's first THX certified microphone... or so it says. The hilariously named Yeti USB Condenser Mic ($149.99) touts condenser capsules in a triple array, four total patterns (omni, cardoid, stereo, bidirectional), a zero-latency headphone output (with volume control for direct monitoring), an adjustable microphone gain control and a mute button. As expected, the USB mic will play nice with both Mac and Windows-based systems, and if you've been looking high and low for a mic that gets an oh-so-coveted stamp of approval from Sir Abominable Snowman, you can finally call off the hunt next month.
